017 – Hobart, Swansea, and Glenorchy, Tasmania – Eat, Drink, and Be Furry

Our original plan for our six-month journey was to have Britt’s parents join us in New Zealand and Fiji for a month in February. This plan, however, did not take into consideration the “only child/grandchild” factor. Thus, Nana (Madeleine) and G-Dad (Andrew) took us (only slightly) by surprise when they emailed us two days after we left for Paris to let us know they would also be enduring two additional 26-hour travel stints in less than three months to join us for two weeks in Australia…that’s dedication.

So it was, that upon our arrival in Hobart, we were welcomed with open arms by Ciel’s two new (exceptionally zealous) handlers.

 In true Poynter fashion, we have been eating and drinking our way up the East Coast of Tasmania ever since. We exist only for the purpose of planning what (and when) we are going to eat and drink for our next meal. Given that Tassie (as the locals call it) is an island state, we have been consuming well over our recommended daily intake of fish and seafood. We made need some sort of mercury decontamination before we pass through our next airport metal detector.

Our first night we ate at a local fish restaurant in Hobart. G-Dad loved it so much he promptly fell asleep in his fish ‘n’ chips.

 Next we witnessed an intense episode of Iron Chef Australia. Chef Bearss squared off against Chef Poynter,

the secret ingredient… Australian Boarfish.

Chef Poynter drew on his Asian influences, opting for Japanese Panko-Crusted Boarfish accompanied by Caramelized Onion Cremini Mushroom Caps with Lightly-Poached Baby Carrots.

After whipping up some Fresh Oysters and a Guacamole opener (that the competition couldn’t keep his hands off long enough to get a clear picture),

Chef Bearss countered with a Caribbean-inspired Jalapeño Boarfish Ceviche.

We had to declare a draw, as the judge’s linguistic skills were not quite advanced enough to deliver a verdict. 

But, it probably would've been something like (in a bad english voice-over),

"Fuji-saaaan!  The myriad of flavours is both...oh...I think I just pooped my pants.”

Fresh off the success of dueling Boarfish, we doubled-down on four dozen oysters.

 A few with lemon, and the rest in Nana Madeleine’s World Famous Oyster Slapjack.

On Ian and Alexa’s recommendation, we headed out to the Salamanca Market one night for some stellar wood-fired pizzas.

 Clockwise from the front, for those that care about this kind of thing (aka Bud)…

Roast Pumpkin - pumpkin, balsamic onion jam, feta, rosemary and tomato

Huon Valley Mushroom – forest mushrooms, garlic, thyme, porcini paste, mozzarella, crème frâiche

Tandoori Chicken - chicken, mint yogurt, cucumber, onion, tomato, mozzarella, topped with a papadam

Hoi Sin Duck – roasted duck confit, peanuts, mozzarella, hoison sauce, red and green chillis, spring onions, stir fry vegetables.

Our Kia Carnival Hunny-Wagon has endured many tire-squealing moments as a result of G-Dad’s adept ability to spot a roadside winery (of which there has been no shortage) nanoseconds before we sail past.

Springvale, Milton, Freycinet, and Coombend, to name a few…

I’m not sure how, but we did have a little time between meals to hit a few attractions.

Tahune Rainforest Airwalk,

Tasman Arch,

Port Arthur Penal Colony,

And the Spiky Bridge.

Ciel has not been disappointed with the wildlife encounters in Tasmania.

After the wild Bennet’s Wallabies at Wineglass Bay joined us for a picnic,

(Our friend is lingering in the background)

We hit up Natureworld to feed the Agile Wallabies and Kangaroos,

See the Koalas,

Meet Beauford the Wombat and his buddy “Stuffy”,

And finally catch up with the infamous Tasmanian Devils.

We narrowly missed this shy little echidna as he scampered across the road. (If you look closely you can see his eye in the bottom left)

And of course, we were fortunate to have many encounters with the lesser-known, reclusive Tasmanian Brown Bear. Seen here in it’s natural environment…

Aside from spending time with their favourite granddaughter, Nana and G-Dad have gotten a chance to get friendly with some local folk.

Tomorrow is G-Dad’s and my birthday. So, we’re resting up in preparation for the celebrations.

Britt has decreed that I must save a blog specifically for the day…

Hopefully, you (and we) won’t be disappointed.